Andor - writing

[EmilyMiller]

I have very belatedly just finished watching Andor. So it’s prestige Star Wars - aka achingly slow at times - but slow, IMO, in a good, considered, thought-provoking way. Like being edged .

It’s the first grown-up version of SW I have ever seen. I noted that some of it was penned by the main guy behind House of Cards (or at least the remake of it).

So I’m not going to go on about the acting (excellent - I’ve always had a thing for Alex Skarsgård, maybe a threesome with his Dad?) or the cinematography, or SFX. What did people think of the writing?

Em

 

[AwkwardlySet]

While I am a fan of Star Wars, the terrible episodes 7-9, the mediocre Mandalorian and a very sad Kenobi have left me with zero faith in Hollywood. I am just trying to spare myself the anger of a great franchise being dragged through mud. I must admit I did hear that Andor isn't bad at all, but I have no will to watch it. Hopefully, someone creative and not obsessed with political correctness will pick up the franchise sooner or later, and Star Wars will shine again. There is even a great story waiting for a good director and writer to put it into movies. Yes, I am talking about Revan's story, as some of you gaming nerds maybe know.
@Kumquatqueen does this still fall under your law if the topic is actually about Star Wars?

 

[EmilyMiller]

While I am a fan of Star Wars, the terrible episodes 7-9, the mediocre Mandalorian and a very sad Kenobi have left me with zero faith in Hollywood. I am just trying to spare myself the anger of a great franchise being dragged through mud. I must admit I did hear that Andor isn't bad at all, but I have no will to watch it. Hopefully, someone creative and not obsessed with political correctness will pick up the franchise sooner or later, and Star Wars will shine again. There is even a great story waiting for a good director and writer to put it into movies. Yes, I am talking about Revan's story, as some of you gaming nerds maybe know.
@Kumquatqueen does this still fall under your law if the topic is actually about Star Wars?

You should watch it.

I’m afraid it does have POC (and Scottish people too). I know that must be a drag, but you can’t have everything right. It even has girls who like other girls (implied not seen), I mean that never happens IRL, right? I mean what are your chances of running into one of those?

It even has some aliens. But it’s nevertheless properly written.

Em

 

[AwkwardlySet]

It even has girls who like other girls (implied not seen), I mean that never happens IRL, right? I mean what are your chances of running into one of those?

Absurd. Next thing you are going to claim is that unicorns exist... or good female drivers

 

[EmilyMiller]

Absurd. Next thing you are going to claim is that unicorns exist... or good female drivers

You are incorrigible.

Em

 

[cuppatea]

It was remarkably well written, it outshone everything from the SW franchise since Rogue One.

They interwove a lot of the threads that underpin the series: the origins of the rebellion and dealt with it in a real world sense. To have a certain actor pop up halfway through was a delight as well!

It was slow at times, IMO they needed that slow burn to set it apart from the usual spaceships and pewpew battles, it had a sense of character that was lacking in Kenobi and TBoBF …

As for it being “politically correct” … all I saw was damn fine acting. Whatever next: a female Doctor Who? A POC in the role of Doctor Who?

 

[EmilyMiller]

It was remarkably well written, it outshone everything from the SW franchise since Rogue One.

Rogue One never did it for me. Though Felicity Jones is cute. I’m so shallow, I know

They interwove a lot of the threads that underpin the series: the origins of the rebellion and dealt with it in a real world sense. To have a certain actor pop up halfway through was a delight as well!

It was slow at times, IMO they needed that slow burn to set it apart from the usual spaceships and pewpew battles, it had a sense of character that was lacking in Kenobi and TBoBF …

The slowness led to something. The prison scenes were interminable, but I guess that enhanced the feeling of release. [see edging again].

As for it being “politically correct” … all I saw was damn fine acting. Whatever next: a female Doctor Who? A POC in the role of Doctor Who?

Female writers - the horror!

Em

 

[djrip]

You are incorrigible.

Em

Oh I used that word in a recent story too. Not the fanciest word but it was fun to use.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Oh I used that word in a recent story too. Not the fanciest word but it was fun to use.

Someone called me that on here a few weeks back.

Em

 

[cuppatea]

I’ve been called it a few times. So much better than being corrugated.

 

[Seadog777]

I haven't watched it yet.

Disney has pretty much gone and completely fucked the whole thing up, outside of Rogue One and a FEW great episodes of The Mandalorian.

If I were to use the words I want to on here to describe what Disney did to Boba Fett, I'd probably be banished.

Is Andor even worth me giving it an umpteenth chance???

 

[Kumquatqueen]

@Kumquatqueen does this still fall under your law if the topic is actually about Star Wars?

Hard for a probability to approach one if it starts there, but I still regard it as supporting evidence of Kumquat's Law being true. I think Mike Godwin said the same about discussions of the Nazis.

I can't see the problem with a galaxy far, far away having humanoid women and people of varied skin colours doing stuff to go with all the aliens of divers sexes and colours that people seem to cope with just fine, but I'm yet to encounter any Star Wars property with a decent script. And I include the original trilogy in that. /controversial

 

[tenyari]

Andor was pretty much the only time I've felt Star Wars was worth watching. Well, that and Rogue One - though it was a little annoying learning that Donnie Yen's character was originally just a racist ninja-kung-fu master until the actor himself threatened to walk if they didn't change it. He's still a ninja-kung-fu master because of course he is since he's Asian and everybody knows all Asians are kung-fu masters... (/rolleyes), but at least he also got to have dialogue and be the funniest character because... who knew Asians could do comedy other than the 2 billion people who were his fans already...

Er um...

So Andor is better than all the other Star Wars.

I don't know how it managed to sneak through or who was different in being in charge there. But if Star Wars had been like this from the 70s forward, we'd all be watching that over just about any other sci-fi.

It's like 'Foundation' if Asimov could write a character levels of good. So good you wonder how it managed to get on TV in today's era of everyone having to act like a moody teenager.

No one should expect anything going forward to be that good. They will ruin it. This is a one time event. Just look at what the idiots who run the DCEU did to Shazam... They managed to get one comedy out there (which is what Shazam was known for), and then with the sequel reminded us how much their movies are supposed to suck - that the good one was purely on accident.

 

[tenyari]

but I'm yet to encounter any Star Wars property with a decent script. And I include the original trilogy in that. /controversial

People only like the original Star Wars because most of us were from age 5 to 9 when it came out... It's crap, which I can see now.

It's pseudo babble philosophy done all wrong that people who took one philosophy class in junior college love to make documentaries about talking about how epic it was... but the actual philosophy in Star Wars is the kind of stuff people would just chat about in the student union in the 70s after getting out of the class with that 'hot professor' everyone wanted to fuck... You thought you were being deep and intellectual, but really you were just somewhere between high and horny.

 

[PandemicReader8]

I have very belatedly just finished watching Andor. So it’s prestige Star Wars - aka achingly slow at times - but slow, IMO, in a good, considered, thought-provoking way. Like being edged .

While I am struggling to come to terms with 'Star Wars Edging'... I have to say that it is a good show.

The story kept my interest and was compelling in much the same way as Rogue One. Knowing where the character is headed, oddly didn't get in my way. Overall, just looking at the storytelling and ignoring franchise - I may be tarred and feathered for this - it is better than the Last of Us. I really enjoyed tLoU, it's squarely in my prefered genre as a reader, but watch the finale and then tell me I'm wrong. Andor felt like a film noir Star Wars, which was an interesting deviation from Space Opera. Is it a good thing for a franchise that essentially remade 4,5 an 6 and called them new movies and then phoned is a lot of what followed? Not sure.

 

[Seadog777]

People only like the original Star Wars because most of us were from age 5 to 9 when it came out... It's crap, which I can see now.

I respectfully disagree.
The Original 3 Star Wars movies (4,5,6) aren't crap.
Don't get me wrong, they aren't The Green Mile or Mystic River great.
They aren't Dude Where's My Car or Borat dogshit either.
They're certainly better than 1,2,3,8 and 9.

 

[Zootonius]

Alec Guinness hated Star Wars. Of course he like his share of the box office receipts. And it gave him the freedom to say no to roles he didn't like later in life.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Oh dear! I thought we could have a chat about, you know, writing and stuff. I didn’t expect the Clone Wars.

Sheesh!

Em

 

[cuppatea]

The Clone Wars, no one expects.

 

[EmilyMiller]

The Clone Wars, no one expects.

So Yoda and Python. Kudos!

Em

 

[cuppatea]

In sci-fi shows, thinking of one in particular, where you have the capacity for high levels of technobabble, the meaningfulness of said dialogue goes down. Audiences don’t care about how the flux capacitor is linked to the bussard collectors or where the bioneural gel pack that regulates the polarity to the stellar cartography; audiences care about characters and motivation.

Good writing sets up the characters and their motivation for doing things. Give me believable characters, even if there are a certain amount of tropes in the character profile, I want to be rooting for that character when the chips are down.

 

[EmilyMiller]

In sci-fi shows, thinking of one in particular, where you have the capacity for high levels of technobabble, the meaningfulness of said dialogue goes down. Audiences don’t care about how the flux capacitor is linked to the bussard collectors or where the bioneural gel pack that regulates the polarity to the stellar cartography; audiences care about characters and motivation.

Good writing sets up the characters and their motivation for doing things. Give me believable characters, even if there are a certain amount of tropes in the character profile, I want to be rooting for that character when the chips are down.

One word. Firefly.

Em

 

[Kumquatqueen]

They aren't Dude Where's My Car or Borat dogshit either.

Borat is brilliant! Bruno and the original Ali G characters are more patchy, but on the whole Sacha Baron Cohen is well funny and knows how to create brave piss-taking comedy. Even the Kazakhs now appreciate Borat and how he's actually poking fun at mainstream America, just like Ali G did at the UK.

 

[cuppatea]

One word. Firefly.

Em

Aside from Kayleigh … I never bought into Firefly. Tried.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

In sci-fi shows, thinking of one in particular, where you have the capacity for high levels of technobabble, the meaningfulness of said dialogue goes down. Audiences don’t care about how the flux capacitor is linked to the bussard collectors or where the bioneural gel pack that regulates the polarity to the stellar cartography; audiences care about characters and motivation.

Good writing sets up the characters and their motivation for doing things. Give me believable characters, even if there are a certain amount of tropes in the character profile, I want to be rooting for that character when the chips are down.

It doesn't matter in many shows if you reverse the polarity of the neutron flow in every episode.

Firefly and The Expanse managed to avoid that and suggest more complex actual science as well as having complex characters in complex situations.